EXCLUSIVE: Lisa Kessler's Moonlight Blog Tour Makes A Stop At KSR!

As a fan of paranormal romance, I am honored to have Mrs. Lisa Kessler (author of the Night Series [vampires] and the Moon Series [werewolves/shifters]) have her Moonlight Blog Tour make a stop here at KSR!

She is one of my personal favorite writers of this generation, and brings heat and danger to an already sexy and dangerous genre. Enjoy my exclusive interview with her below, and also, there are links here to purchase Moonlight, the first novel in the Moon Series (also, be on the lookout for Hunter's Moon coming soon!)

 

 

1. Thank you very much for allowing me to interview you for your blog tour, Mrs. Kessler. It's a pleasure to have you here! What got you started wanting to be a writer?

What got me started was actually Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. I was crazy about that series, but there were HUGE gaps between book releases so I started writing my own vampires while I waited! :)

 

2. What books/authors did you enjoy growing up and what do you enjoy reading today?

I've always loved fantastical and scary stories. As a kid my favorites were The Phantom Tollbooth and The Mythical Beast, and as I got older I read Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Anne Rice, and John Saul...  These days some of my favorites are Kelley Armstrong, Patricia Briggs, Angie Fox, Sherrilyn Kenyon and Jeri Smith-Ready.

 

3. Your novels deal with vampires and werewolves, respectively. What made you decide to do paranormal romance as opposed to other forms of romance?

I actually got my start publishing horror short stories. I love to be scared and I also love romance, so paranormal romance is perfect for me! LOL I've tried to write something contemporary but some sort of paranormal being always ends up showing up.

 

4. What supernatural creatures would you like to write about in the future?

I'd love to take Across the Veil and expand it into a Fae series.  I love magical things and it would be fun to give Fae magick my own twist... :)

 

5. Your first novel, Night Walker, was released in August 2011. How did that feel to see something you worked so hard on finally released to the masses?

Oh I cried when I finally got my hands on print copies! I had such a long, hard, rejection-filled road to seeing that book in print that it was a joy to see it go out into the world. And after all the reader reactions, I'm so glad I sent it out on submission one more time! LOL

 

6. Did you always intend to make it a series or did that come about as a surprise even to you?

When I was about 2/3 of the way through with Night Walker, it occurred to me that Kate had been reincarnated more than once, and I knew Calisto's maker had been Mayan. I started doing more research into Mayan creation mythology and then I had the ideas for the rest of the series.

 

7. Your characters are all very different from each other and from the "normal" types of vampire and femme fatale. Were you inspired by real people or are they wholly imaginary?

Thank you!!!  I try really hard to make each character unique. I've never added in character traits of people that I know, at least not on purpose! LOL As I get to know the character better they become their own person.

 

8. You released a novella, Night Thief, in 2012. What was the difference writing that as opposed to writing another full-length novel?

At first I struggled writing Night Thief because I kept worrying that what I was planning would make it end up too long. I'd never written anything that length before. But once I got over that and trusted myself, the novella really wrote itself. Kane and Rita had so much spark right from the beginning that it was pure pleasure to write it!  (Plus I loved being able to have a vampire vs. Night Walker fight... So fun!)

 

9. Werewolves have transformed in recent years from hairy, smelly murdering creatures to sexual, rugged and handsome men. In your opinion, was this transition too quick or was it not a moment too soon?

I think it was a natural progression. Maybe it's something to do with that old cliche about "All men are dogs!"...  But I think it is really sexy to write strong, hot-blooded men who protect their family and the women they love...  Yum! :)

 

10. Do you know how many books the Moon Series will spawn?

I have 8 books planned for the series. So far I'm only contracted for the first 3 so I hope I'll get to finish the series the way I have planned... *fingers crossed* :)

 

11. Jaguar shifters are not the "usual" types of villains you find nowadays. What made you choose something so unique instead of going the "Sanguinarian VS. Lycan" route?

It came about while I was writing a bunch of short stories. The opening chapter of Moonlight was actually the initial short story, and when I wrote it, I had been thinking, what if someone was a shifter and had no idea that's what was happening to them. And what if they weren't a werewolf and shifted on the opposite cycle of a full moon? Then I thought about cats seeing well in the dark so it made sense that jaguars would shift during new moon. The book was finished about six months later...  :)

 

12. The romances in some of your novels, including Moonlight, start out as mutual dislike between the characters that transforms into lust/love. Is that theme of slow-burning passion something you think will continue to be a theme in future novels (as it is quite enthralling to read)?

I do love the push and pull of mutual dislike until they get to know each other better, but I'm also a fan of friends becoming more like Gretchen and Lukas in Night Demon and you'll see that in the third moon book, Blood Moon. For me, it's really up to the characters. They tell the story, and I just write it down... :)

 

13. With the werewolf pack in the Twilight movies and the new CW TV show Beauty And The Beast making such a splash in the mainstream, are you glad to see that werewolves are now in the spotlight and not things to be feared?

I started out a huge vampire lover and never really paid a lot of attention to shifters, but after I wrote Moonlight they won me over and then I met Alcide on True Blood on HBO.... Shew!!! There is something to be said for body heat...  (But I still love vampires too! LOL)

 

14. What are your other passions aside from writing spine-tingling paranormal romances?

Music is a huge passion for me. I'm a singer and now my son is in college studying voice so it's fun for me to have that to share with him. I'm also a crazy Disney fanatic! I go to Disneyland as often as I can and my Disney pin collection is a little scary to a non-Disney-aholic! LOL

 

15. Thank you again for allowing your Blog Tour to stop here at KSR, it is much appreciated! Can you reveal to the readers three things that they wouldn't guess about you as a person and writer?

I think people are sometimes surprised to discover I grew up on a horse ranch. Writing Adam as a horse trainer was a SUPER fun walk down memory lane for me! :)  Thanks for having me on your blog Kelly!!!

 

 

Purchase Moonlight via the following links:

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/moonlight-lisa-kessler/1115161574?ean=9781622661084

 

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Moonlight-Moon-Series-Entangled-ebook/dp/B00CGFGS3A/

 

Rafflecopter: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MWNiNTU0OTUyMGNlZDFiOGJmOTc5ZmExZmRmZDJmOjEwNQ==/

 

Find Lisa Kessler at the following places online:

 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/LdyDisney

Twitter: www.twitter.com/LdyDisney

FB LIKE page for Lisa Kessler: www.facebook.com/LisaKesslerWriter

FB LIKE page for the Moon Series: www.facebook.com/MoonSeriesLisaKessler

FB LIKE page for the Night Series: www.facebook.com/NightSeries

Lisa's Lair: www.LisasLair.com

Lisa on WordPress: www.lisakessler.wordpress.com

 

 

Join the NIGHT ANGELS (street team): https://www.facebook.com/groups/272123519550705/